City Strolls - events - meetings
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
29 April Now we are free
Lessons from Vieques - a conference celebrating
community resistance to the military presence in Scotland
Pearce Institute, Govan, Glasgow Friday 29th and Saturday 30th April 2005
On May 8th 2003 Indymedia was able to write the headline: "US Navy Leaves Vieques After 60 Years of Bombing" (Indymedia May 8, 2003), continuing:
"The US Navy bombing tests and military practice on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, has ended. On May 1, citizens in Vieques celebrated the first day in over 60 years without a US Navy bombing run. Until recently, the US Navy owned over two-thirds of Vieques. When the US bought this land in the 1940s, many families and farmers were forced out of their homes and off their lands to make way for military exercises, which began in 1947. Now we are free."
Drawing on their inspiration to defeat the contamination of their land and culture by the US Military, Scotland UXB has invited a delegation from Vieques in Puerto Rico to share their experience and bring together anti-military activists from around Scotland.
The conference will celebrate the liberation of Vieques, the re-publication of CND's "Fortress Scotland"and launch the UXB network. This is an opportunity for people to share strategies for effective resistance against depleted uranium testing, live firing ranges, military bases, low-flying, nuclear convoys and other issues.
The delegation from Vieques includes Robert Rabin and Dara Guadalupe from the Comit Pro Rescate y Desarrollo de Vieques – who have been at the forefront of the civil disobedience campaign, as well as activists from around Scotland to discuss successful strategies for combating military occupation. Robert Rabin is a founding board member of the Committee For the Rescue and Development of Vieques, the principal grass roots community organisation in the struggle that stopped the US Navy from bombing there in May 2003.
Other speakers include: Tommy Sheridan (Scottish Socialist Party), Chris Balance (Scottish Green Party), Phill Jones (Scottish CND), Rob Gibson (SNP), Alastair McIntosh (author and activist), David Miller (Spinwatch).
For a full list of speakers and a look at the Fortress Scotland interactive map of military bases visit: www.scotland-uxb.org.uk
Scotland UXB is an independent network of organisations fighting military abuses. This conference is organised in collaboration with Scotland's for Peace, the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, Scottish CND, Friends of the Earth Scotland and with the generous support of the Joseph Rowntree Trust.
Bob, 23:14
